Features in this issue

Forest orchestra

Listening to the forest to uncover biological clues

Jarrah forest. Photo – Cliff Winfield
Jarrah forest. Photo – Cliff Winfield

The soundscape of an environment can help detect creatures that might be otherwise hard to see. Innovative scientists are recording sounds of Western Australia’s forests in the south-west to uncover clues about what types of species occur there and how the environment changes throughout the day. 

Picture, for a moment, a eucalypt forest. You see tall trees stretching skyward while dappled light casts shadows on the forest floor. You smell the distinct scent that eucalypts have, tinged with the musty, damp odour of leaf litter wet with dew. You carefully run your hand along a tree trunk, with its coarse, stringy bark confirming you’re in a jarrah forest.

But what do you hear? Perhaps it’s a bird call, or the wind rustling the leaves. Maybe you hear the soft thud as a kangaroo stirs and bounds away. And what of the insects: do you hear that all-consuming wave of sound that seems to swell and swirl around the forest?

The soundscape of an environment contains clues about the ecosystem, providing an opportunity to detect some of the most hard-to-find creatures.Technological advances mean innovative scientists can tune into the forest’s soundtrack to uncover what our eyes might struggle to see. 

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Other features in this issue

Glorious Geleznowia

First recognised half a world away in the mid-1800s, the Western Australian genus Geleznowia, commonly known as yellow bells, has a tumultuous history spanning the globe, with modern techniques revealing unexpected diversity in this stunning group. 

7 minute read

Langford Park: Milling, mining and mountain biking

Once the site of Alcoa’s first bauxite mine in the 1960s, Langford Park is today a popular trail network where hikers and mountain bikers can weave their way through the rehabilitated forest. Recent trail and facility upgrades mean the park is providing an enriched experience for visitors. 

4 minute read

Kalgulup Regional Park

Covering 3168 hectares of land across three locations in and around greater Bunbury, Kalgulup Regional Park offers beaches, the Leschenault Estuary and Inlet foreshores, parts of the Collie, Brunswick and Preston river foreshores, landscaped parks, and natural bushland. 

5 minute read

Kayaking on the Swan River

All too often we reach the end of the weekend and wonder where it went. Between family commitments and household chores, there never seems to be enough time for leisure before Monday rolls around. Or is there? Rebecca Tapp dusted off her kayak and made time to head out for a paddle on the beautiful Swan River.

4 minute read

Pursuit of the elusive heath mouse

Surveys of the elusive heath mouse, a threatened native rodent, have paid off with the confirmed persistence of the species at Lake Magenta Nature Reserve in Western Australia’s southern wheatbelt. New species detection techniques are giving scientists hope of locating more of the species. 

6 minute read

Shining a light on the Shoals

Some 260 kilometres north-west of Broome lie three picturesque reefs that make up the magical Rowley Shoals. A biodiversity hotspot, the Rowley Shoals are a renowned tourism destination and important scientific reference area. However, these marine parks are facing threats from a variety of sources, making their conservation and management a priority now more than ever. 

7 minute read

Interview with a (false) vampire

High-tech research and monitoring approaches are allowing researchers to unravel the secret lives of one of the largest bat species in Australia, the ghost bat. GPS tags, autonomous ultrasonic sound recorders and DNA fingerprinting are allowing researchers to track, monitor and learn more about this unique species. 

6 minute read

Recent issues

Acknowledgement of Country

The Government of Western Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners throughout Western Australia and their continuing connection to the land, waters and community. We pay our respects to all members of the Aboriginal communities and their cultures; and to Elders both past and present.